Shockwave
by Arikae
Summary: Episode tag to Shockwave. The knock to Sam's head in this episode didn't just give him a concussion.


**Shockwave**

**Author's note: So I've been going through some of the stories I have on my computer that haven't been published and found this one. It's a tag to the episode Shockwave. I hope you enjoy it because I am pretty sure this really will be my last Flashpoint story (though you never know :D). Also, thank you to everyone that has reviewed my stories. It makes me so happy to read your reviews and see you add my stories to your favourites.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.**

Sam felt as if the whole world had collapsed on him. He tried to open his eyes but an invisible force was holding them down. His head had a jackhammer in it. _What happened?_ He groaned when he finally managed to open his eyes. Everything was blurry. He closed his eyes tight and opened them again, relieved that it was clearer when he did. "Sir, are you okay?" Someone was talking to him and helping him to his feet. Sam looked at the man and recognised him as the security guard who was trying to evacuate the room. It all came back to him now. The bomb had gone off. "Any casualties?" He groaned as he stood.

"Um…two ladies hurt." Tony answered.

Sam reached for his headset, then realised it had fallen out. He put it back in place and spoke into the microphone. Jules must be out of her mind. He wondered how long he'd been out. "Boss, Jules." His voice sounded tired, even to his own ears. The headache was making it a little hard to concentrate.

* * *

_"Boss, Jules."_ Despite the weakness in the voice, it was music to Team One's ears.

"Sam, buddy, you gave us a quite scare there." Greg Parker, leader of Team One, could worry about one less thing now. Up until that moment, the extent of Sam's injuries were unknown. Now at least he was conscious. "How are you feeling?"

_"Like a building came down on me."_ Greg smirked at the answer. Well, the boy still had a sense of humour so he couldn't be injured too badly.

"Sam, you're supposed to leave the bombs to the demolition guys." Jules' voice was full of concern for the sniper and Greg knew it wasn't just her typical concern for a teammate.

"Raff, how is he?" Greg asked. It's one thing to ask Sam, but it would be safer to get a more objective opinion.

* * *

Sam turned his head for Raff to take a closer looked. As he did, his vision blurred for a moment before clearing again. Sam frowned, not sure of what it meant, but ignored it as it had already corrected itself. "He's got a head wound."

"I'm fine." Sam replied, which just made everyone on Team One roll their eyes. It was a typical answer from Sam, hence the need for an objective opinion.

"I wouldn't say he's 'fine', but for now, he seems clear minded." Raff told them, knowing they would all ignore Sam's answer.

_"What's the situation down there?"_ Greg asked.

"We still can't see a way out."

Sam looked at Raff in disbelief, "We're trapped down here?" They had been so focused on Sam's condition they had neglected to tell Sam what the situation was.

"I'm going to help Spike." Raff said, before giving Sam a slap on the back. Sam nodded to him. Looks like his job will be to keep the people calm. He looked around and did a quick survey. It looked as though everybody was doing a good job of keeping calm for now. His main focus needed to be on the woman trapped under the slab of concrete. Sam stepped towards her when his vision blurred again. This time it took a little longer to clear.

"Are you okay, Sir?" Tony asked, worried about the officer's injury.

Sam frowned and looked at him. "Um…yeah." He answered and started towards the girl again. "What's her name?"

"Ronia."

Sam knelt down next to Ronia. "Hi Ronia, my name's Sam Braddock." Ronia smiled at the handsome police officer. "We've got people up top working on getting you out of here. Can you tell me where it hurts?"

"I can't feel my legs."

Sam nodded, "Don't think too much into that. It could be just the weight of the concrete. Are you cold?" Ronia nodded. "Okay. Tony, give her your jacket and keep her talking." Sam could hear what the plan was. They found a wall they could blow through and hoist everyone up. The only problem was there wasn't enough time to get everyone out before the bomb blows.

"You're right there. I can hear you." Raff was telling Ed Lane, their team leader.

"Setting the charge now." Ed reported, "Pull me back up." He called to the firefighters above them.

_"Sam, I've got the pictures you sent of the girl. I'm going to send down some meds, can you start her on an IV?"_ Sam recognised the voice to be Steve's.

"Just send it down." Sam answered him.

_"Alright, get clear, it's ready to blow."_

"Wait, just let me disable the motion sensors, otherwise the explosion could set it off early." Spike worked as calmly and quickly as possible, "Alright. Please let this be the last thing we blow up today." Spike prayed as he stepped around the corner.

Sam and Raff knelt over Ronia to protect her from any falling debris the explosion would cause. The explosion sent a knife through Sam's head. He felt as if the bomb had been set off in his head. Raff got up as soon as the debris settled. Sam looked down at Ronia, but couldn't see her. Did the lights go out? He blinked twice, hard and was relieved when Ronia's face came into view. That was weird. "Are you okay, Sam?" Ronia asked him.

Sam smiled at her, pushing back the pain in his head. She was stuck under a concrete and she was worried about him. "I'm fine. We'll be getting you out of here soon. I'll be right back." He got up and went over to the hole Ed had just made. The hoist came down with the medicine Ronia needed. Raff handed it to Sam and he immediately returned to the injured girl. "Okay, let's start getting people out." Sam heard Ed order. Right now, his job was to take care of Ronia. Raff will look after the others.

Sam sat down next to Ronia, smiling at her as he prepared the IV. He handed the bag of fluids to Tony, "Find something to hang this on." Tony nodded and took it.

"Have you done this before?" Ronia asked Sam, her voice trembling. She didn't know that SRU officers were trained as medics as well.

"Field trained." Sam reassured her, "Soldiers though, they aren't as tough as you." Sam was about to stick the needle into the vein in her arm when his vision faded in and out a couple of time. He waited and took a deep breath, waiting to see if his vision planned to fail him again. He looked at Ronia. She was worried about him again. "Just making sure I get this in one go." Sam told her as he looked down and expertly found the vein, injecting the line on the first go. "See? He shoots, he scores." Ronia gave a small chuckle.

_"Guys, I've sent you a picture of Alexis. Check your PDAs."_ Alexis is the name of the bomber they are trying to find. There was nothing Sam, Spike or Raff could do from where they were but they all looked at their PDAs anyway. Sam's blood froze when he saw the photo of the man.

"The bomber's down here." Sam heard Spike report. He sounded like how Sam felt. Sam didn't react. The man was opposite him and he's been a great help. They couldn't engage the target until all the civilians were safe and at the moment, he didn't pose a threat. Engaging him could change that. Sam counted the civilians left. They were running out of time. Sam quickly started setting up the equipment that would free Ronia. They were inflatable bags that would lift the slab slowly and steadily. Raff helped him position them, then pressed the button. Ronia cried out as the pressure on her legs lifted and the feeling came back to her.

"There's no blood." Raff noticed, confused.

"It's the phosphorus building up in her system. We need to get her up top now." Sam rubbed at his eyes in frustration as his vision kept fading in and out. He knew he should report it to his leader and the Boss, but their first priority was the civilians and for now, it wasn't affecting his job. "Let's get her up." Sam ordered. Ronia was the last of the civilians. He and Raff got her into the harness and sat her on the edge of the hole.

"Thank you, Sam." Ronia said before she slowly lost consciousness.

"Ronia? Ronia!" Sam called out, "Get her up!" He watched as she was lifted to safety, praying that they got her out in time. Once she was gone, Sam, Raff and Spike pulled out their guns and aimed it at Tony.

"Alexis. Alexis Kaninsky." Alexis turned around slowly. They found him out.

"Raff, you're next!" Ed called out as soon as Ronia was on the gurney.

"Sam's injured, he should go first." Raff objected.

Sam shook his head, regretting it immediately when he did, though he didn't let it show. His vision was getting worse, the headache was getting worse and he was starting to feel nauseous. "Seniority." Sam said, simply.

"Raff!" Ed's tone breached no argument.

"I'll see you two topside." Raff ordered his teammates. Sam simply nodded, not taking his eyes off Alexis. Spike was trying to talk down the subject, but Sam couldn't hear what he was saying over the rushing of blood in his ear and pounding in his head.

"Sam, you're next!" Ed's voice was like a knife in his head. Sam closed his eyes tight as the pain got worse, but when he opened them again, it was still pitch dark. He closed and opened them again. However, unlike the other times his vision didn't come back. "Sam!" It was Ed again and this time his voice made his nausea worse. Sam dropped to knees and promptly threw up the little amount of food in his stomach.

Spike and Alexis both looked at Sam in concern. "Sam?" Spike found it hard to keep an eye on the target and check on Sam. In the end, he decided Alexis wasn't going to try anything. There was no point. Spike knelt down next to Sam, "Sam, we need to get you out of here." He tried to get Sam onto his feet but Sam just shook his head and pushed himself back to lean against the wall.

"Spike, what's going on?"

"I'm not sure. Sam just threw up. I'm guessing he's got a concussion." Spike answered, "Come on, Sam, get up and get out of here."

"I can't see." Sam said when he finally got the nausea under control, but he was breathing heavily.

"What?" Spike asked, confused, "What do you mean?"

"I mean I can't see anything. It's all pitch black." Sam clarified. He could hear Jules' gasp over the headphones, "Spike, you're wasting time. You need to get out of here."

Spike shook his head, "No way, we're getting you out first."

_"Spike, get Sam hooked up."_ Jules called out, not thinking about the consequences.

"Right," Spike said, trying to pull Sam onto his feet but Sam wasn't helping him. "Sam, get up!"

"There's no more time, Spike. Get out of here." Sam told him. He could feel himself losing consciousness, "You've wasted enough time worrying about me. Get out while you can."

Spike knelt back down and tapped Sam hard on the face, "Stay with me, Sam!"

_"Sam!"_ Jules called out, shocking Sam a little and clearing his mind.

"Jules." Sam said breathlessly, "I'm sorry."

_"Sam, get up and get yourself out of there."_ Jules ordered. He could hear the emotion in her voice. She wasn't even bothering to hide it.

"Spike, get out now." Ed sighed as he made the order. Sam was right, there was no time left and Spike wouldn't be able to get Sam onto the hook on his own if Sam wasn't holding his own weight.

Spike glared at Alexis. He's lost one friend already—he wasn't planning on losing another one, "Help me!" Spike said as he got up and pointed to Sam who was still conscious and clearly trying to get his vision back. "Help him!"

"I'm sorry. I can't." Alexis told him, "They took everything from me. My mother had high hopes for me and I thought this was the project that would make all of her hard work pay off, but they took it from me, from her! I can't let them have it."

Spike knew about family. His father was in the hospital right now and he didn't know if he would see him for the last time before he passes. "What was her name?" Spike asked, this was it, either he talked this guy down or he and Sam dies here with him.

"Galina."

Spike nodded, "Galina." Then it came to him. His eyes widened as he recognised the name for what it is. "That's the code, it's Alphanumeric." Spike ran passed Sam to the bomb.

"Spike, what are you doing? Get out of there now." Greg ordered, from the truck. There was going to be a lot of paper work after today, not to mention he would need to have a talk with Jules and Sam. However, his first priority right now was to get his guys out of there alive.

"I can do this, Boss. What were those numbers?" Spike asked of the numbers he had gotten off the number pad on the bomb. "It's 4…2…" He looked at Alexis with a maniac expression, "Right? Am I right? What's L, Boss, what's L?"

Greg looked at his notes, "5…4 and 2 were double tapped." He shook his head. His bomb expert was cutting it too close.

"5…" Spike turned to Alexis, "HELP ME!" Alexis looked at Sam, who seemed more aware now with all the excitement going on around here, but his eyes were blank. "HELP ME!"

Nobody was supposed to get hurt, nobody but himself, "4, 2!" He called as he ran over to help Spike disable the bomb.

Sam felt Alexis run past him. He smiled. Looks like they might survive this after all. He could hear them talking frantically.

"Careful!" Alexis said as they unscrewed the detonator.

"Got it!" Spike called triumphantly and threw the detonator as far as he could, past Sam.

* * *

Sam felt as if his own head had exploded when the detonator went off. There was a ringing in his ear and the pounding doubled in speed and intensity. He wished someone would just cut off his head. "Sam? Sam, talk to me, buddy." Sam frowned at the voice. It was Ed's but it didn't sound like it was coming from his headset. He realised his eyes were closed. He opened them, but it didn't help. Everything was still pitch black. Someone had their hands on his shoulders. "That's good, Sam. Stay with me."

It was driving Sam mad, not being able to see what was going on around him. "Ed?"

"Yeah, it's me." Ed answered.

"Where's Alexis?"

"He's up top. Now, it's your turn."

Sam shook his head, "Spike."

"Right here, buddy." Spike spoke up. He didn't want to say anything earlier, afraid that too many voices would confuse his friend, but it had confused Sam even more because just a second ago he was trapped with Spike and Alexis not Ed.

"What happened?" Sam asked.

"You passed out. Spike disabled the bomb and we got Alexis out. Everyone's safe. Now, it's your turn." Ed explained to him, "You should've told us about your eyes."

Sam knew he would get in trouble for hiding his injuries but SRU had rules and even if he had told them, they still had to get the civilians out first. "Spike, you need to go." He said instead of answering Ed. Sam may be confused about what was going on now, but he knew what had gone on before. Spike's dad was dying.

"We need to get you out first." Spike protested even though he was desperate to get to his dad.

"Spike, Ed's here. He'll get me out. You've neutralised the threat. Now get out of here." Ed could tell there was no point in arguing with Sam right now and he was right. Ed nodded to Spike and gestured with his head to tell him to go first.

"I'll make sure he gets up top." Ed reassured Spike, "Go."

Spike took one last look at Sam before nodding, "I'll see you at the hospital, Sam."

Sam smiled and held up his fist in the general direction of Spike's voice. He felt Spike's fist connect with his, then let his hand drop back down. Sam listened for the sound that indicated Spike was getting hoisted to the surface. He knew Ed was staring at him. "I can feel you burning a hole in my skull." Sam said drily.

"You should've said something." Ed told him seriously.

"And what would you have done? Got me out first?" Sam asked him.

"You know we can't do that."

"Exactly and that's why I didn't say anything. There was nothing anyone could've done. My injury would've been a distraction to everyone else. Anyway, I didn't lose my sight completely until..." Now that the situation was under control, realisation of what it meant to be blind hit him. He's lost his vision. He was a sniper, losing his vision meant losing everything. Ed watched as signs of panic started appearing on Sam's expression. He knew that the ramifications of losing his vision were taking over his thoughts.

"Sam, don't!" Ed needed to stop those thought in their tracks, "You don't know what's causing this. It's most likely temporary. The hit to your head is probably causing it. Let the doctors check you out before you drive yourself crazy with what may or may not be." Ed waited for Sam to process what he just said. He smiled when he felt Sam visibly relax. "Good. Come on. Let's get you out of here." He stood up and then reached down and took Sam by the arm, helping him to his feet. The change in position was disorienting for Sam causing him to lose his balance. Ed steadied him with hands under his forearms and waited. "Tell me when you're good." He said softly. Sam waited until the spinning feeling slowed down. He took deep breaths until his head finally stopped spinning.

"I'm good." Sam said in relief. His blindness made the spinning worse than it would've been. Ed hooked Sam up then gently turned him so that his back was against the hole in the wall. Sam let him be maneuvered into position, trusting his team leader completely. He felt behind him until he could feel the edge of the hole, grunting as he levered himself onto the edge. Sam could feel Ed keeping a hand on his head to stop him from bumping it. "Alright, get him up." Ed ordered and watched as Sam slowly rose up to the surface.

Steve, Jules, Greg and Wordy were waiting up top for him. As soon as Sam cleared the hole, he could feel hands pulling him over and detaching him from the hoist. "Come on, Sam. Let's get you some help." The voice belonged to their boss. Greg didn't like how empty Sam's eyes looked. He didn't even blink when his eyes were exposed to the daylight after being in the dark underground for so long. His sight was completely gone. No shadows or blurriness, just black.

Sam felt someone take his gun. His first instinct was to stop that person, flinching and taking a step back, but another hand grabbed his wrist, "It's okay, Sam. It's me, Wordy. We need to get your gear off before you can go to the hospital." Sam sighed in relief and nodded, letting his teammates remove his gun and vest.

Jules and Wordy gently helped Sam lie down on the gurney. "We'll be taking him to St Simon's." Steve told them as he and his partner rolled Sam into the ambulance. Steve turned to Jules, "Does anyone want to ride along?" Jules was about to answer when Greg interrupted.

"Wordy, go with Sam." Greg ordered, "Jules, I need you here with me."

"But…"

"Wordy, go." Greg ignored Jules. He knew how much Jules wanted to go with Sam but Jules made a mistake today and that mistake could cost her and Sam their place on Team One as well as Greg's job if he didn't put a stop to it now.

Wordy looked between his Boss and Jules, knowing something was going on but he wasn't quite sure what it was. He put a hand on Jules' shoulder, "I'll call you when I know something." Jules nodded to him. She stood there and watched as the door to the ambulance closed and Sam was taken away.

"We need to talk."

Jules turned her attention to her boss. "Sarge…"

"Not here and not now." Jules could see the disappointment in his eyes. She had more respect for this man than anybody else and she hated lying to him, but she loved Sam more than anybody in this world. She had given him up once for Team One, she wasn't sure she'd have the strength to do that again.

Ed climbed out of the chute and found his boss and profiler looking at each other. Greg didn't look happy and Jules looked…guilty. This can't be good. "Pretty good day today." He called out.

Greg gave Jules one last look before turning to him, "Yeah, Ed. Not bad." He looked around, "The unis and firefighters are going to clean up here. Let's head back."

Ed nodded and walked with Greg to the SUV while Jules joined Raff at the other SUV. "You going to tell me what that was all about?"

Greg winced, he never liked keeping things from Ed but he couldn't let him get involved. If this all comes down, he's the only one it's going to take with it. "Nothing a little talk with Jules isn't going to fix." Ed just dipped his head. He trusted Greg completely. If he says he can handle it then Greg will handle it.

* * *

Sam laid on the hospital bed at a 45 degree angle with bandages around his eyes. The doctor told him that the explosion had caused a blood vessel in his brain to burst causing haemorrhaging in both eyes. The bandages were to minimise movement in the eye and the angle of his position was to allow the blood to settle and clear. He had a good chance of getting his vision back but it wasn't one hundred percent.

Wordy sat in the chair next to Sam's bed. He couldn't tell if Sam was asleep or not and he didn't want to disturb him if he was asleep, but sitting here in silence was starting to make him uncomfortable.

"Sorry, I'm not very good company at the moment." Wordy sat up at Sam's voice.

"I didn't know if you were awake or not." He said, "How are you feeling?"

Sam shrugged, "Headache's still there."

Wordy sighed, "Yeah, I figured. Getting blown up tends to do that to you. I'm asking how you are?"

Sam smirked and then frowned. He wasn't sure how he felt. "I'm a sniper who's blind. How should I feel?"

"You're a sniper who is temporarily blind." Wordy corrected him, "There's a big difference there."

"Yeah, but right now, right here, it doesn't feel very temporary." Sam knew he was just feeling sorry for himself. It was something he never did, but losing his eyesight is hitting harder than he thought it would. Sam sighed, "I'm sorry. You don't have to stay. I'm sure Shelley and your girls are waiting for you."

Wordy looked at his watch, "Actually, it's still an hour before our shift's over." He sat forward, "You know the doctors are giving you pretty good odds of a full recovery."

"Yeah, I know. I just can't help thinking about what would happen if I don't make a full recovery. Even if I get a part of it back…I'm a sniper."

Wordy couldn't imagine what Sam was going through right now, but he knew one thing, "There's no point thinking about 'what ifs'. It's useless and it can be dangerous."

Sam turned his head towards Wordy's voice, wincing at the headache, "Don't worry about me, Wordy. I'm just feeling sorry for myself. I'll get over it."

Wordy laughed at the self-deprecating comment. He was about to reply when his phone beeped. He pulled it out and read the message. "Looks like the teams heading over."

Sam sighed and wanted to roll his eyes, "Tell them to go home!"

"Ha! Right, because they'll listen to me." Wordy shook his head, grinning.

There was a knock at the door. Sam frowned, "That was quick."

Wordy turned to the door, "Spike? Hey, how's your dad?"

Spike nodded and gave a small smile, "He's stable for now, but there's not much they can do. They're just trying to keep him comfortable."

"You should be with him, not here." Sam sat up a little, worried about his friend. He could hear the emotion his friend was trying to hold back.

"I just came to see how you were. I'll head back up soon." Spike stood at the end of the bed, "So…"

"So what?" Sam asked.

"So how are you feeling?" Spike rolled his eyes, making Wordy smirk.

"I'm fine." Sam answered simply.

Spike looked at Wordy for an elaboration. "Doctor says there's haemorrhaging in the eyes. It should clear on its own. If it doesn't, there's always surgery that could fix it. He has a 90 percent chance of getting his eyesight back."

Spike turned back to Sam, "Now that's an answer. 'I'm fine' tells me nothing."

"I'm fine." Sam repeated with exaggeration, just to annoy Spike further.

"Yeah, just like you were fine down in that basement, but what you really meant was 'I'm losing my vision, have a concussion and I'm nauseous.'" Spike returned drily, "Would it kill you to just answer honestly?"

"What would you have done differently if I told you about my vision?" Sam asked him, "Nothing." He answered for Spike, "Nothing because SRU has rules and those rules wouldn't allow you to change a thing. So for goodness sakes, would you all just drop it?" Sam was getting tired of explaining himself, "What's done is done." Spike and Wordy just looked at each other and shook their heads. "And don't shake your heads at me, you know I'm right." They looked at each other, raising their eyebrows. Spike waved his hand in front of Sam and made a couple of funny faces. Wordy burst out laughing. Sam frowned, not quite sure what was happening. "Spike, what are you doing?"

Spike stopped immediately and shook his head, trying to look innocent, "Nothing."

"Right." Sam gave a small smile. Spike did make their job more interesting than it already is. "You should go back to your dad."

"Yeah, I will." Spike told him. "You take care."

"Don't be such a girl and get out of here. I've got enough mother hens on the team to deal with."

"Fine, see if I care the next time you blow up." Spike retorted as he left the room.

* * *

**The Barn**

The team had debriefed and Raf and Ed went to take a shower. Jules stayed behind. The boss wanted to talk to her privately. She knew what it was about. She and Sam had secretly gotten back together behind the team's back. Jules knew the risks of being with Sam but she didn't care. She loves him. They would've kept it a secret until they could find a way to be together without putting Team One in danger of getting divided, but today showed her how hard it was to keep her feelings to herself. "I'm sorry, Boss." She said before Greg could say anything.

Greg looked at her in disappointment, "How long?"

Jules winced, "Since Dr. Toth came to assess our team."

Greg closed his eyes. A headache was coming on. He rubbed his eyes, not sure how he should be feeling about this. "You and Sam both know what can happen to Team One if Toth finds out."

Jules nodded, worried, "Are you going to tell him?"

"After today? I should!" Greg opened the log book and read from it, "Constable Braddock: you're wasting time. You need to get out of here.

"Constable Scarlatti: No way, we're getting you out first.

"Constable Callaghan: Spike, get Sam hooked up." Greg pointed harshly at the book at this part, glaring at Jules before he skipped the next few lines, then continued, "Constable Callaghan: Sam.

"Constable Braddock: Jules, I'm sorry.

"Constable Callaghan: Sam, get up and get yourself out of there." Greg finished there. "You're lucky these are only logs. If they were recorded there is no way I would be able to explain this." Jules looked up at him in hope. Does he mean what she thinks he means? "Don't get too happy." He warned her, "I'll be watching both of you closely. Your actions today tell me that you could let your relationship with Sam put this entire team at risk. You reflect on that, because if I hear even the slightest hint of it again, I will fire your ass. You understand me?"

Jules nodded in relief, "Yes, Sir!"

"Good." Greg closed the logbook and placed it in the envelope, sealing it and signing the flap. It'll be stored away unless it's needed for evidence.

Jules knew she had just gotten out of hot water but she needed to ask the boss, "What about, Sam?"

Greg stood up with the envelope in hand, "I think Sam has enough to worry about right now, don't you?" Jules nodded quickly, glad Sam was off the hook for now. "Anyway, Sam's part I can put down to his concussion." He sighed at the woman he considered a daughter, "Go get changed."

"Yes, Sir." Greg watched her leave the conference room. He didn't know if he had made the right decision, but he wasn't about to tear these two apart. Not after everything they've been through. He'll take responsibility for his actions.

* * *

**St Simon's Hospital:**

Once Spike left the room, Sam leaned back into the pillow, groaning as his headache went up a notch. "You okay, Sam?" He didn't want to show how much pain he was in in front of Spike. The bomb expert had enough to worry about.

"Just a headache."

"You have a concussion, Sam. It's not just a headache." Wordy never understood Sam's need to dial down his injuries. "You know it's hard for anyone to help you when you don't tell us how you really are."

Sam sighed, he knew what Wordy was saying but Sam grew up in a family where everybody kept their feelings to themselves. Crying or admitting pain was considered a sign of weakness. When his sister died, his parents drowned themselves in their work. Keeping themselves busy was always the way to deal with their problems. "Sorry, force of habit." Sam said quietly.

Wordy reached over and put a hand on Sam's forearm, "You know we're all here for you, right?" He asked his friend, "No matter what happens we'll get you through it."

Sam nodded slightly, trying to not move his head too much, "I know."

"You're tired, you should sleep." Wordy told him, "We left a message with your parents to let them know what happened."

Sam smirked at that, "Thanks."

Wordy knew Sam didn't have a very good relationship with his father, but Sam was acting as if his parents wouldn't even care that he's in the hospital. "Should we have called them?"

Sam shrugged, "Doesn't matter which way really." He didn't want to go too much into his family life, "You're right, I'm tired. Do you mind if we don't talk about this?"

"Of course, it's none of my business." Wordy apologised, pulling his hand back.

Sam sighed, "It's not that I don't want you to know. I just don't like talking about it. It's nothing bad, just nothing good either."

"You don't need to explain it to me, Sam."

"Team One is my family, Wordy." Sam didn't want Wordy to think he didn't trust him, "There's no secrets between us. It's just that my family's different to others. My father thinks I'm wasting my time here."

Wordy shook his head at that, frowning, "I wouldn't call saving lives 'wasting time'."

Sam smiled, "You don't need to convince me. I know why I'm here and for once, I don't care what my father thinks. Joining SRU was the best decision I've made in my life. I don't regret it for a minute." If he hadn't joined SRU he wouldn't have met the love of his life. He could never regret that, no matter what happened from here on out.

"That's good to hear, Sam. Sounds like I don't need to worry about you."

Sam chuckled at that, "Who are you kidding, Wordy? You, Ed and the boss can't help but worry about us!" 'Us' meaning the younger members of the team.

"Yeah, well someone needs to keep you little hotheads out of trouble." Wordy and Sam jumped at the voice from the door. It was Ed and the rest of Team One.

"Damn it. Don't you believe in knocking, Ed?" Sam complained as his headache worsened.

"Well, you shouldn't talk about your boss and TL behind their backs." Even though the words were casual enough, Sam could hear the concern in Ed's voice.

"Would've said it to your face if you'd been here." Sam returned hoping to lessen their worry. He could hear a few snickers at that comment. "The rest of the team here?"

"Yeah, Sam. We are." Greg answered, "How are you feeling?"

"Tired." Sam answered, honestly for once, though it was still too brief for their liking.

"Doctor says he's got a concussion and haemorrhaging in his eyes. He needs to rest. It's more than likely he'll get his sight back." Wordy volunteered the information.

"I don't see why you can't tell us that yourself." Ed complained the same way Spike did.

Sam shrugged, "Why would I need to when Wordy here does such a good job?"

"That's right, I'm his secretary." Wordy said drily.

"Wordy, do you mind asking the doctor when I can be discharged?" Sam grinned, making the most of the secretary comment. He couldn't see the glare Wordy gave him but he could feel it.

"What's the rush, Sam?" Greg asked, "You have a concussion. Probably should stay a night just a case."

"Ah…Boss! Isn't it bad enough I can't see? You want me to stay here all night." Sam complained. "I'm in a bad mood as it is, keeping me over night is just going to make me shoot someone."

Ed laughed. It was good to hear the man joke despite the situation. "I've never seen anyone hate the hospital as much as you."

"Why would anyone like the hospital?!"

"Alright, alright. Calm down, Sam. I'll go talk to the doctor." Greg left the room, shaking his head. The younger team members drove him crazy at times.

Sam grinned, "Thanks, Boss!" He winced at the volume of his own voice.

"Are you okay, Sam?"

Sam sat up at the voice. Jules. "Um…" He tried to speak casually, "Just a headache. Who else is here?"

"That's it." Ed's words contained a hint of a warning. Sam couldn't see the look he gave Jules, but Wordy did. It was the same look Greg had given Jules after they got Sam out. Something was going on between Sam and Jules. "Raff had a gig to go to."

Sam heard the door open. "Doctor signed the discharge papers. His condition was that someone keeps an eye on you until your next visit which is in two weeks."

"Two weeks." Sam's tone told them he wasn't happy. "I'm blind for two weeks."

"Only two weeks, Sam." Wordy said, pointedly. "This isn't permanent."

Sam sighed. He knew Wordy was right, but it was hard to keep optimistic when you were living in the dark. "Thanks, Wordy." He took a breath. "If someone would hand me my clothes. I really want to get out of here."

* * *

The team was on their way out of the hospital when Spike ran up to them. "Hey!" Sam turned towards the voice.

"Spike, shouldn't you be with your dad?"

"Um…" Spike scratched his head, "my mom's with him. She told me to go home and rest." Ed nodded, waiting for Spike to tell them more. "The doctor says he won't regain consciousness. He'll be like this for a week or so before he…"

"You should stay with your mom." Greg gave his shoulder a squeeze.

Spike shook his head, "No. She wants to be alone with him now. She'll call me if anything changes." It did seem strange to him, considering his mother was calling him when he was on a hot call. "I think she's coming to terms with him leaving us."

Sam found it strange how he could pick up on little things that he probably wouldn't have if he had his eyesight. He could hear how unsure Spike was about leaving his mother. "Spike, I need someone to watch out for me for a while. Just until I get my vision back again. Do you mind?" Usually Sam would be too proud to ask for help like this but it was different when he couldn't see anybody's expression. Plus, he knew Spike needed this.

"Of course I don't mind." Sam smiled. He could hear the relief in Spike's voice telling him he was right.

"Thanks, Spike."

"Perfect. Spike stays with Sam." Wordy clapped his hands together. "I'll drive Spike to grab some stuff from his place and meet you at Sam's."

Greg pushed Sam's wheelchair towards the front door of the hospital. He gave Sam's shoulder a squeeze. "Nicely done, Sam." Sam's come a long way since joining the team. Another reason he didn't want to lose him to a team policy.

* * *

Spike grabbed a bottle of water from Sam's fridge and a small canister of pills from the table. Sam's headache was making it hard from him to rest. The doctor had prescribed meds for the headache and nausea. Spike entered Sam's room. The team had made sure Sam was propped up at a 45 degree angle on the bed. Spike sat down on the bed and put the water on the bedside table. "Here," He put the meds in Sam's hand, then gave him the water to help wash it down.

"Thanks." Sam leaned back against the pillows. "So how are you?"

Spike raised his eyebrows at that. "Shouldn't I be asking you that question?"

Sam smiled, "We both know who's worse off in this room. I've lost my eyesight. You're losing your father."

Spike sighed, his elbows resting on his legs. "He's been fighting cancer for over a year now. I've come to terms with it. I'm just worried about my mom. She wants to go back to Italy after he's gone."

"You don't want her to?"

"I…" Spike shrugged, "I'm not sure."

"Do you have family back in Italy?"

"Her sister's family."

"Then she'll be fine, right?" Sam reached a hand out and smiled when Spike gripped it. "And so will you. You're a really good guy, Spike and really smart. You'll be fine."

Spike smiled and nodded. Sam was right. He will be fine. "Thanks, Sam." He stood up then. "You need to sleep. Ed will kill me if I keep you up all night."

Sam chuckled. "You guys are such chickens. He's not that scary."

"Sam," Spike shook his head, "We're not scared of him. He's just extremely irritable when one of us is out of commission."

"Right…you just keep telling yourself that." Sam laughed, but Spike could hear how tired he was.

"Go to sleep, Sam."

"Yeah, yeah. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Spike stood to leave when Sam called out.

"Hey, Spike?" Spike turned around. "I never thanked you for saving my life."

Spike smiled, "Bombs are my thing."

Sam shook his head. "You had time to get out, but you stayed because of me. Thank you."

Spike nodded and smiled, "You're welcome, Sam."

* * *

**Two weeks later…**

Team one sat around the gym. They weren't working out. Ed had tried to get them motivated but even he had to give up after a while. Today was the day Sam would be told if he'd be getting his sight back or not. They all wanted to accompany him but Sam asked them not to. He didn't know how he would react if the doctor told him he would be blind for the rest of his life. He didn't want to have to pretend with this team and he didn't want them to have to think of words to comfort him because he knew those words didn't exist. As much as he knew it was wrong, he wanted to do this alone.

"One of us should be there." Spike spoke up. "I mean, he's a strong guy. We all know he's been through hell and back but this is different." Spike hasn't had such a great week. His father passed away only a couple of days ago. The boss told him to take more days off but Spike felt he needed his family. He needed to be with Team One. His house was filled with relatives from overseas right now and it was overwhelming. Being back at work was good for him. He looked at his watch. "Why hasn't he called? His appointment was at 7am." It was 9.30 now.

"Um…guys?" All heads turned to the voice at the door. It was Winnie leading Sam in. The team felt their hearts plummet when they saw Sam with sunglasses and a white cane. Winnie kept her head down. She looked to be holding back tears.

"Sam…" Ed started about to walk up to them when a giggle could be heard. Ed frowned. "Winnie?"

She shook her hand at Sam. "I'm sorry, Sam. I can't do it." She covered her mouth, trying to cover her laughter.

"Ah…Winnie…I could've milked so much out of them!" Sam folded up the white cane and grinned at them.

They stared at him and Winnie, not sure how they should be reacting. Ed narrowed his eyes. "You're not blind." Sam's grin just grew and shook his head.

Winnie took a step back. "I'll leave Sam to you guys. I need to get back to my desk." She quickly retreated, not wanting to be in anyone's firing line.

Wordy walked up to him, "You son of a bitch." He snatched the sunglasses of Sam. "You scared to shit out of us."

Sam's hand shot up and covered his eyes. "I need those." He was serious but he couldn't keep the amusement out of his voice. He stretched his hand out towards Wordy's general direction, but his shades were not returned. "Aw…come on, Wordy. I'm serious."

"Right!" Spike's annoyed voice sounded from next to him, making him jump. "I don't think I trust another word out of you."

Sam laughed, "My eyes are still sensitive to the light! I need them." Still they weren't returned. "Doctor says I need to keep them on until my eyes adjust otherwise I could do permanent damage." They were returned immediately upon those words. Sam smiled and put them back on. "Thank you." He jumped when someone punched his left arm. "Ow." He looked at Jules in mock shock, but got serious when he saw that she had tears in her eyes. "I'm fine, Jules. My vision's still a little blurry but the doctor says that'll clear in day or two." Jules punched him again. "Ow!"

"You do that to me again and I'll give you a concussion myself." Jules threatened.

"Alright everyone. You've had enough of a rest this morning. Time to get into the training." Greg had deliberately changed Team One's shift to a late one because of Sam's appointment. "Good to hear you'll be okay, Sam."

Sam smiled. "Thanks, Boss."

"I am going to run you to the ground when you get back to work." Ed threatened. "You'll be so sore, you're going to wish you were still blind."

Sam laughed, "I seriously doubt you can do anything to me that would make me wish that."

Ed shrugged. That was probably true. "Doesn't mean I won't try."

The team got their training routine underway now that they knew Sam would be okay. "Sam, why don't you stick around? We'll drop you off at home when we head out."

"Sounds like a plan." Sam jumped onto one of the exercise bikes and trained with the team.

Spike laughed. "There's no keeping you down, is there, Samtastic?"

Sam grinned. He loved his job and as long as he was able, this is where he'll be for decades to come.

**THE END.**


End file.
